In the wake of Jon Embree’s firing, I checked in with an old family friend — Ron Stratten, now the owner of StrataSoles, Inc. in Spring Valley, Calif.

Ron played at Oregon, briefly was in high school coaching, then returned to the Ducks as defensive line coach in 1968. He was the first African American assistant coach hired in what then was the Pacific 8 Conference, later became the head coach at Portland State, and was an NCAA official for many years before going into private business.

Stratten labeled the Embree firing “a travesty.” He wondered if Embree had been given a mandate to turn it around quickly, and we both know the answer to that was no — not necessarily, because the turnaround was supposed to be accomplished with honor. “It was clear they had very little talent as Colorado jumped into the Pac 12 Conference,” Stratten said. “Jon said he wanted to avoid taking a quick fix approach — with bad guys with talent, who brings problems — but it seems clear his bosses did not agree with that strategy. I wonder how much they shared their aspirations for the program, beyond wanting to go to a bowl.”

Stratten continued: “I remember Mississippi State hiring Sylvester Croom as it went on probation, something he had nothing to do with. I told friends at the NCAA that I hoped they did not expect him, as the first black head football coach in the SEC, to be competitive while he was on probation and while he wasn’t able to fully address the negative recruiting of his SEC colleagues. He was successful in spite of the probationary noose around the program’s neck, but was fired anyway, just as they came off probation. MSU had had its best seasons in many years and Croom finally had his own players who were committed to the way he saw success. Coach Embree did not have the chance to put his mark on that team, as I’m sure he was promised.

“As African Americans we are reluctantly hired and expected to overcome extreme adversity just to keep the job. We don’t get the benefit of the doubt very often. I’m not saying Jon’s firing was racism, but I’m sure race played a part in how long losing would be tolerated while building a program. Though we are starting to see opportunity for African American coaches expanding, it is going to be essential that expectations are clear and resources are available commensurate with expectations.”

Stratten brought up the landscape in the Pac 12. “It is not clear whether that commitment was really there in Jon’s case,” he said. “You would know better than I would. Take a look around the Pac 12. You’ll find academic centers, weight rooms, training facilities, and staff to support students with needs. It is definitely a big boy game these days and the arms race is in full stride. Maybe the next coach will get better support.”

Ron noted that he was a “transitional coach” at Portland State. I know: He nursed a horrible and under-funded program through several seasons of improvement, tangible and intangible, before he resigned and PSU replaced him with booster favorite Mouse Davis, familiar around here as the one-time coach of the Denver Gold.

All Embree had to do was beat a bad CSU team and a Div 2 team (Sac State) and he would probably still have a job. The bar was set that low. I wonder how many CU games Ron Stratten watched this year? My guess is zero. Had he watched, he would have seen a team with about 60th ranked talent playing to 120th ranked results. Had other teams not played their 2nd and 3rd string players for most of the second half, it would have been worse.
Mr. Stratten was right about one thing, it is ‘big boy’ football. CU fortunately admitted that they didn’t have a big boy football coach.

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.